This is for you
by Miss Barbara
Summary: Why did McGee become a federal agent? And who is Maaike?


Summary: Why did McGee become a federal Agent? Who is Maaike?  
Rating: FR15  
Genre: Drama  
Characters: Tim, Sarah, Maaike and Tim's parents.  
Spoilers: None  
Challenge: This is for the Making of McGee challenge.  
Author's Note: I do not own them, not now, not ever.

*This is for you.*

Rain poured down from the sky as Agnes McGee stood with her son, Tim, next to a grave. She sighed and thought back to that horrible day.

-----

A little boy sat on the stairs of an apartment building. Everyone who walked by would just think that he was waiting for someone, but anyone who would take a closer look could see that the little boy was crying.

His green eyes shone sadly and his round cheeks were wet. He made soft sniffing noises and tried to stop the crying.

It didn't work that well.

His handkerchief was pushed against his nose and he after a few minutes he dried his eyes.

After a deep sigh he continued to walk down the street. He walked trough several other streets and after 10 minutes he walked in to a garden of a cute, small home.

"McGee" the mailbox read.

He walked to the back door and pushed it open. He braced himself for the thing he knew would come.

"Hello, Timmy," a cheery voice said. "How was your day today?"

A pair of piercing green eyes looked at him. They were almost completely hidden beneath a giant stack of messy curls. The woman walked around in a large green dress and bare feet.

"Okay, I guess," the little boy answered as he shrugged. "Carl didn't pick on me today," he said with a watery smile.

The boy's mother pulled him next to her on at the kitchen table and handed him a cup of nettle tea. "I can see that you have been crying sweetie. Tell me, what is it?"

The boy swallowed and avoided his mother's gaze.

"I got a B on my math test today." Tears came welling up in his eyes again and he searched his backpack for the paper. "I made a stupid mistake," he sobbed while handing his mother the test.

Tim's mother, Agnes, sighed. "Tim sweetie," she said "You know that we don't care if you get an A or not. You did the best you could and that is all that matters."

His mother smiled upon the sight of her boy. Every mother would be happy to have a son that was so driven, wanted to be the best. But to be honest, she preferred him happy over smart.

"Maaike is in her playpen, waiting for you." She smiled when she saw Tim's face light up. He loved his little sister to death.

There was an age difference of 4 year, but Tim loved his five-year-old sister. No matter how bad his day had been, Maaike was always able to cheer him up. He loved reading to her, talking to her or playing with her toys with her.

Agnes McGee watched her children play and sighed. Timothy was a good boy; he always listened to his parents, was smart and healthy. But he was insecure; way too insecure. He could cry for hours when he didn't get an A at school or if he felt that he could have done better.

At home he was completely different. He was a cheery social boy who loved to play with his sister. And when she was in bed he would sit at the kitchen table and do his homework, completely happy.

He didn't need homework, he usually finished every thing during school hours, but he liked it so much, the teacher gave him some extra material to work with.

Yesterday the teacher had suggested that he should skip a year so he wouldn't get bored at school. Agnes and Timothy Sr. decided that they wouldn't do it. He needed the time to make friends and learn social skills.

Agnes was happy that Maaike didn't show any signs of being gifted. Many parents may consider it an blessing, but it really wasn't.

'A few more weeks,' she thought, 'and then we have summer vacation.'

-----

"Mom, can I bring my math book?"

Agnes smiled. "Sweetie, we are going on vacation, you're free from school."

His little face changed into that famous pout. "But mom, I like math!"

"Okay, you can take it," she said with a smile. With his pout and his big green eyes, Tim was really irresistible when he wanted to be.

-----

An hour later they were on the road. Timothy Sr. was driving and next to him was Agnes, singing along with the radio.

In the backseat were Tim and Maaike. Tim was explaining some of his math problems while Maaike pretended to listen. After five minutes, though, she gave up on that and started to play with her doll.

They looked like, and were, a happy family.

-----

A few miles before there destiny, the rain started pouring down. Tim and Maaike became irritated and asked every five minutes if they were there yet.

Half an hour later Timothy Sr was done. He turned around to give the children a reprimand. He had his eyes off the road for just a second, but it was too late.

Suddenly there was a streetlight in front of the car. He pushed the break almost through the floor, but there was no way he could avoid it. The car was spinning in the rain and slammed its side into the streetlight.

It all happened in a matter of seconds. Tim felt himself panic. His father and mother didn't respond and his little sister was bleeding. She said things, but he couldn't make sense out of what she was saying. The only thing he would remember from that horrible moment was that he hung on to his little sister.

There were people, talking to him, to his parents, to Maaike, but he didn't respond. He was in shock they told him later.

After a while there were strong police agents, lifting him up from his seat and taking him to an ambulance. A friendly paramedic checked him out and cleaned the blood off his face and hands.

..."We cut her free from the car"...

…"Make sure there is an OR ready"...

… "She isn't going to make it"...

He knew that they were talking about his sister, but he didn't want to believe it. A stretcher was put in the ambulance next to him; it was his sister. The doors closed and they sped off to the nearest hospital.

He leaned over to her stretcher and grabbed Maaikes hand.

"You need to get better Maay," he whispered to her. "You really need to get better, so you can learn to read and do math problems. They're so much fun. You want to be a princess. Well, that can only happen if you get better"

The paramedic on the other side of the stretcher signed to her colleague that things were going downhill fast.

That was when her eyes fluttered open and shut again.

"Timmy," she said with a weak voice, "I feel so cold." She opened her eyes with the last power she had in her. "Timmy, if you are grown up, you need to protect people, make them happy. You're good at that." She smiled.

Her eyes closed and a few seconds later the heart monitor gave a long beep.

The paramedics pushed Tim aside and together they tried everything they could. But after 5 minutes they gave up.

"Time of death: 13:36," the female said when she pulled a blanket over Maaikes' head.

They drove in silence to the hospital, and once inside Tim was guided away from his little sister by a friendly nurse.

He sat in a little room until his parents came in. Minutes could have passed, but if someone told him that it had been 5 hours he would have believed that too.

His mother hugged him, crying while his father paced back and forward in the little room.

No one spoke. They went back home, taking a taxi. Back home he ran up to his room and buried his face in his pillow, finally allowing his tears to run free.

Downstairs he heard his mother crying and his father making phone calls.

Days went by where Tim only existed. He barely ate; he just cried and slept. The day came of Maaikes' funeral. He was dressed in his jeans and Maaikes favorite shirt. He clung onto Maaikes' favorite stuffed animal. His name was Jibby and he was a cute little purple pig.

He sat in the church, not really listening. He followed his parents quietly to the cemetery. He watched people talk, but he didn't hear them. The only thing he heard was Maaike talking to him.

"Protect people, make people happy. You're good at that" (this is italic for the sake of the story)

He wondered why he had failed to protect her.

His mother nudged him. It was his turn to put some thing on the coffin. He walked forward and kissed the coffin. "Bye," he whispered as he put Jibby on the top.

A few weeks later his vacation was over and he went back to school. He worked harder than ever. His parents, still grieving from their daughter's death, didn't have the energy to do something about it.

By Christmas he went to the next grade, doing two years in one. Every day he mourned for his loss.

Years went by and after 3 years his parents told him that his mother was pregnant, that he would get another brother or sister.

He was furious for weeks. He refused to talk to his parents. He felt that they were trying to replace Maaike.

Months later, when Sarah was born, he understood that his parents did not try to replace Maaike. He fell in love with her from the moment that he held her and he was more protective than ever.

Years went by and there wasn't a day that he didn't think about Maaike, but he loved Sarah as much as he had loved Maaike. He tried to be the best brother anyone could have. He protected her from bullies from her grade, but when it was time go to Junior High and he was no longer able to protect her.

When he was went to MIT he still had no clue what he was going to be. He decided that he would to for Computer Forensics.

When he turned sixteen he got a car from his parents. He didn't like to talk about the whole event, but he got in an accident. His car was gone but he and his father where fine except for a few bruises. But the police officers at the scene made him feel safe; they gave him the feeling that every thing would be just fine.

That night he did some research at the University library, and after a few weeks he decided that he wanted to go into law enforcement. Not just yet, though; he wanted to finish his education first. But some day he would become an agent or police man.

After a few years he graduated, but he didn't feel ready for FLETC; there was still so much out there to learn. He decided that he would go to Johns Hopkins and get another degree.

He flew through his studies. He was eager to learn and worked hard. He went home as much as possible to be with his parent and all of a sudden he had also finished his degree at Johns Hopkins

He still wanted to learn more, but his heart told him that it was time to go to FLETC. He send application letters to FBI, CIA, NCIS, DIA, USPPD and the secret service.

Weeks went by and he got rejection letters. They told him that he was highly intelligent and should study for a Ph. D. With every letter he got more frustrated. He had promised Maaike that he would protect people.

Finally, one day he decided that he was going to give up on becoming a federal agent and was going back to the university. That afternoon he got a letter from NCIS. He had read something about it online and decided that it couldn't hurt to send an application.

He read the letter and jumped up.

"Mom!" he yelled running through the house "Mom! I have an interview."

The next day he drove to DC to have the interview and several tests at NCIS HQ. A long period of waiting started after that. He knew that he wasn't physically fit but he hoped that his intelligence could make up for that.

On a really rainy day he received a letter from NCIS. In it they congratulated him! He was allowed to go to FLETC. If he could pass there he would have a job at NCIS.

A few weeks later he moved in to his little apartment near FLETC. He was as excited as he could be. He was living in a strange town and about to go to FLETC. He was determined to make it through, so he joined a gym. If he was going to fail it wasn't going to be on the physical part.

He worked as hard as he could. He woke up early every morning to go for a jog. Fighting wasn't his strong suit, but he tried his hardest. All the theory was a piece of cake for him.

Months later, when he graduated, he heard that he was top of his class. It made him beam with pride.

When they handed him his certificate there was only one thing he could say:

"This if for you, Maaike."

With tears in his eyes, he walked off the stage and into his mother's arms.

A month later he started at Norfolk, eager to learn more and thankful everyday for the choice he'd made. His certificate was framed and hanging on his wall, along with a picture of Maaike.

Sometimes he regretted his decision, like those times when he had failed to protect Erin and Abby. But at the end of the day he was happy with the profession he'd chosen and the friends he had met through it.

There was one time that he felt he had failed Sarah. It was the day she was framed for murder; he'd felt like he had let her down. He wasn't sure if he was able to continue his job, but thanks to Abby (he loved her to death, really) Sarah was cleared and he felt that he could stay.

-----

He looked up to the sky. The clouds were gone and the sun was shining. His mother was still next to him.

"Twenty-five years," he whispered to the headstone. "I miss you everyday," he said with a small smile on his face. "I protect people, just like you wished."

He walked away with a smile on his face. He knew that Sarah was waiting in the car for them.


End file.
